Drink More Coffee to Beat Blue Moods

iVillage: Odd Remedies to Heal PMS, Headaches and More Everyday Pains

A cup of coffee can perk you up in the morning or help you get through a sluggish afternoon, but new research shows that this tasty brew can also be a remarkably effective tool against depression. In a surprising new Harvard study, women who regularly drank two cups daily had a 34 percent lower risk of blue moods, and those who sipped three or more cups each day slashed their risk of full-blown depression by 42 percent. “Caffeine stimulates the brain to produce more of the powerful, natural antidepressant hormones serotonin and dopamine,” explains Peter R. Martin, M.D., a professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. And although no one’s sure yet why, just drinking three cups daily is so nourishing for the brain, it can slash your risk of Alzheimer’s disease as much as 60 percent, add UCLA researchers.

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Be a Once-a-Mont...

Blues. Bloating. Cramps. Cravings. If you’ve ever had a bad case of premenstrual syndrome, a.k.a. PMS, you know what a miserable experience it can be. The solution: One night each month -- a day or so before your symptoms normally strike -- short-change yourself of sleep by going to bed at 9 pm and setting the alarm for 1 am. Drag yourself out of bed and indulge in a few movies, catch up on your reading or do whatever it takes to keep yourself awake till it’s time to start your normal day. When researchers at San Diego’s University of California asked PMS-prone women to try this odd trick, 80 percent of them were completely symptom-free that month! PMS is often triggered by disruptions in the normal sleep/wake cycle, which then sabotages the healthy hormone fluxes that should occur every month, says environmental physiologist Michael Smolensky, Ph.D., author of “The Body Clock Guide to Better Health.” “No one’s sure yet why, but shortchanging yourself of sleep right before PMS hits reboots your body clock, correcting this underlying problem!”

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Sing to Treat Sl...

In sleep surveys, 90 million Americans admit that they snore. And that racket is more than just an annoyance for their bedmates. Snoring weakens your immunity by as much as 25 percent -- it sabotages your ability to stay in the deepest stages of slumber, which is when your body manufactures new white blood cells, say Cornell researchers. To dial down the (snoring) volume, try singing with gusto for 20 minutes daily. Snoring is often triggered by lax muscles in the soft palate and throat -- when these tissues collapse during sleep, the air flowing past them vibrates, producing that tell-tale racket. But in a preliminary study at Britain’s University of Exeter, daily singing sessions helped tone up those muscles, reducing the frequency (and volume) of participants' snoring in just three months. The good news: You don’t have to be a good singer to benefit!

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Eat Apple Peels ...

Munching two apples daily -- as long as you eat the peels -- will cut your risk of indigestion, constipation and other intestinal upsets by 30 percent. Plus, according to a study published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, two daily apples can help prevent much more serious digestive ills, such as colitis and Crohn’s disease. Apples are rich in pectin, a type of fiber that helps the small and large intestines function at their peak. And the peels are loaded with polyphenols, the nutrients that shut down immune cells that cause damaging, painful inflammation in the digestive tract, says David W. Pascual, Ph.D., a professor of immunology at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont. A surprise bonus: Enjoying two polyphenol-rich apples daily can cut your risk of lung cancer almost in half, say University of Hawaii researchers.

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Sip Aloe Vera Ju...

Millions of homes contain a potted aloe vera plant, which is smart, say researchers at the University of Texas in Dallas. Breaking open an aloe leaf and dabbing its juice on the skin speeds skin healing (cuts, minor burns, etc) by as much as 33 percent, according to their research. Now you can buy bottled aloe vera juice in pretty much any health food store -- and drinking one to two ounces of it daily can actually reduce your risk of tension headaches, says naturopathic physician Mark Stengler, N.D., author of The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies. “Aloe vera juice is rich in salicylic acid, acemannan and glucomannan, powerful painkilling anti-inflammatories that also help relax sore, tight muscles.” Already achy? Pairing your usual headache remedy with one ounce of this anti-inflammatory juice could boost your pain relief as much as 50 percent, say researchers at Philadelphia’s Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine. If you find aloe a little bitter, mixing it with orange juice or grape juice will mask the taste.

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Get More Sun to ...

Getting 15 minutes of daily sun exposure (without sunscreen) can cut your risk of ever developing joint pain by 67 percent. A few minutes in the sun can also slow the progression of arthritis by 50 percent or more, and erase muscle aches and pains in as little as three months, say Tufts University researchers. “Sunshine helps your body make vitamin D, a nutrient that’s absolutely essential for the growth of healthy, shock-absorbing joint cartilage and for preventing painful inflammation inside muscles and joints,” explains Michael Holick, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Mass. If you’re rarely outdoors -- or the skies are often dreary where you live -- taking 1,000 International Units of vitamin D daily can fill this nutrition gap, say Tufts researchers.

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Drizzle Potatoes...

At least 65 million Americans already have high blood pressure -- and 20 million more are on the brink of developing it, say researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you’d rather tame those pressure surges yourself, rather than take pricey meds, try serving up a baked potato every day (skin on), and drizzle it with one ounce of sesame oil. According to a British research team, this filling treat could single-handedly cut your blood pressure as much as 32 points. The potato’s secret? Each one is packed with 1,050 milligrams of pressure-lowering potassium. And sesame oil is rich in sesamin, a rare plant compound that relaxes blood vessel walls, preventing blood pressure spikes. Worried that it might make you gain weight? People who trade two slices of bread, a bowl of pasta or any other grain for a healthy baked potato each day shed up to 12 pounds every year, say University of Maine researchers.

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Switch to Full-F...

Studies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that 79 million Americans are on the brink of developing diabetes. Here's the good news for cheese lovers: Harvard researchers have discovered a natural compound in full-fat dairy that could substantially lower your risk of blood sugar snafus and even full-blown diabetes. It’s called trans-palmitoleic acid, and Harvard's 20-year study shows that folks with the highest levels of this fatty acid in their bloodstreams have a 60 percent lower risk of developing diabetes, possibly because this compound helps muscles burn blood sugar more effectively. To do: Enjoy eight ounces of full-fat milk or yogurt, or one ounce of full-fat cheese daily. Bonus: In the same Harvard study, people who enjoyed a serving or two of full-fat dairy daily also had less body fat and healthier cholesterol levels.

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Make a Fist to F...

Surveys consistently show that 90 percent of people attempting to lose weight are derailed by on-the-spot temptations and food cravings. But in one study, briefly tightening any group of muscles -- by clenching the fists, jaw, or scrunching the shoulders -- can raise a person's willpower for two minutes straight, helping them fight off those sudden, diet-sabotaging urges. “Your willpower helps you plow through jobs -- physical ones and mental ones -- with ease,” explains lead researcher Iris W. Hung, Ph.D., an assistant professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore. “Clenching muscles signals your brain to ramp up your willpower even more than normal, because you’re facing a tough task.”

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Sip Red Wine to ...

Getting rid of gum disease will make you feel a lot more confident about your smile, your breath and your teeth. It can also cut your risk of heart disease 41 percent or more, say researchers at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, TX. That’s because the bacteria that cause gum infections produce inflammatory proteins, tiny molecules that spread through your bloodstream, damaging the arteries that nourish your heart. To nip gum problems in the bud, sip one to two ounces of red wine daily (and swish a little of the wine around in your mouth when you do). Red wine is rich in polyphenols -- antioxidants that shut down gum inflammation, plus stop bacteria from producing the glue-like substance that they need in order to cling to your teeth and gums when you’re chewing and swallowing food. All-told, a daily swish of wine could cut your risk of cavities, plaque build-up and gum disease as much as 45 percent, say researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. More good news: Red wine’s natural acids kill 99 percent of the bacteria that cause sore throats, too.

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